Forced To Marry My Cousin's Fiancé

Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Dinner that night felt painfully awkward.

Not because anyone argued.But because it felt too normal.Too much like something they were pretending to be.

Catherine had insisted they all eat together at the dining table, smiling brightly while the staff arranged the food carefully around them. The atmosphere should have felt warm.

Instead, Lane spent most of dinner quietly staring at her plate while trying not to notice Ethan sitting directly across from her.

Every small thing suddenly felt impossible to ignore now.

The sound of his voice when he answered his mother.

The way he loosened the sleeves of his black shirt slightly while eating.

The faint scent of his cologne drifting across the table whenever he moved.

Lane hated herself for still noticing those things.

Especially after everything.

Especially after months of coldness.

Still...

Her heart never seemed to listen.

Catherine talked most of the evening while Ethan responded occasionally with short answers. Lane answered softly whenever spoken to, though her exhaustion was becoming harder to hide now.

Several times Catherine reminded her to eat more.

And every single time, Lane noticed Ethan glance briefly toward her plate before looking away again.

Those tiny moments somehow affected her more than they should have.

By the time dinner finally ended, Lane’s nerves were completely exhausted.

She stood carefully from her chair first.

"I’ll go upstairs."

Catherine smiled warmly.

"Rest well."

Lane nodded softly before leaving the dining room immediately.

The moment she reached upstairs, her chest tightened again.

Ethan’s room.

No matter how much she tried calming herself, the thought still made her nervous.

The room already felt different somehow the moment she entered.

Colder.

More masculine.

Everything inside was neat and dark-colored, exactly like Ethan himself.

Lane quietly moved toward the side of the room where the maids had arranged some of her things earlier.

They looked strangely out of place there.

Like she didn’t belong inside this room at all.

Which honestly—

She probably didn’t.

Lane sighed softly before grabbing comfortable clothes and heading into the bathroom.

Warm water slowly relaxed some of the tension in her body as she showered quietly.

The fatigue lately had been overwhelming.

Her back hurt constantly.

And sleeping had become difficult because she could never seem to get comfortable anymore.

By the time Lane finally finished showering, steam filled most of the bathroom softly.

She reached automatically toward the counter beside her.

Then froze.

Her towel wasn’t there.

Lane blinked once in confusion before suddenly remembering—

This wasn’t her room.

Her stomach immediately dropped.

She had forgotten to bring one.

For several seconds she simply stood there awkwardly while water dripped softly onto the bathroom floor.

Then her eyes landed on a dark towel neatly hanging nearby.

Ethan’s.

Lane hesitated.

Her face warmed slightly.

But she didn’t exactly have another choice.

So eventually she carefully wrapped the towel around herself before slowly opening the bathroom door.

And immediately froze.

Ethan had just walked into the bedroom.

Lane stopped breathing for a second.

The bedroom fell completely silent.

Ethan’s hand paused slightly near the collar of his shirt while his eyes landed on her instantly.

For one horrible moment, Lane genuinely wished the ground would open beneath her feet.

Heat rushed violently into her cheeks.

She tightened the towel instinctively around herself while standing frozen near the bathroom doorway.

Ethan’s expression remained unreadable.

Cold as always.

But his gaze still slowly moved over her once before he looked away again.

Not lingering.

Not emotional.

Just one quiet glance that somehow made Lane’s heartbeat lose control completely.

Then without saying a single word—

Ethan turned and walked back out of the room.

The bedroom door closed again behind him.

Lane released a breath shakily.

"Oh God..."

Her face burned with embarrassment as she hurried toward her side of the room immediately.

How humiliating.

Lane quickly dressed into comfortable pajamas before climbing into bed as fast as possible.

Then she pulled the blanket up almost to her face while staring toward the dark ceiling above her.

Her heart still refused to calm down.

Several minutes later, the bedroom door opened again.

Lane immediately shut her eyes.

Pretending to sleep suddenly felt easier than facing Ethan after that disaster.

She heard his footsteps move quietly across the room afterward.

Then silence. A few seconds later, the bathroom door closed.

Soon the sound of running water filled the room softly.

Lane remained completely still beneath the blankets while trying to calm the nervousness inside her chest.

This was ridiculous.She was a grown woman.

A married woman technically.

And yet somehow sharing a room with Ethan felt more nerve-wracking than anything else lately.

Eventually the shower stopped.

Lane kept her breathing slow and even.

She heard Ethan moving around afterward quietly before finally the mattress dipped slightly beside her.

The bed felt different immediately with another person there.

Warmer.Closer.Lane’s heartbeat became uneven all over again.

Then slowly—A familiar scent surrounded her.

His cologne.

Clean shampoo.Something entirely Ethan.

And embarrassingly—

Lane realized instantly how much she liked it.

The scent felt comforting in a way she hated admitting even to herself.

Safe.Warm.Too easy to sink into.

Lane stayed completely still for several long minutes afterward while listening quietly to Ethan’s breathing beside her.

Eventually exhaustion finally pulled her under.

Sleep came easier than it had in days.

Sometime during the night, Lane shifted repeatedly beneath the blankets trying to find comfort.

Pregnancy had made sleeping almost impossible lately.

Everything hurt.

Nothing felt comfortable long enough.

And unconsciously, sometime deep into the night, her sleeping body drifted closer toward warmth.

Toward Ethan.

Morning sunlight filtered softly into the room when Lane slowly began waking up.

At first she only noticed warmth.

Then firmness beneath her hand.

Then—

The strange position she was in.

Lane frowned sleepily before opening her eyes slowly.

And immediately froze.

Ethan was awake.

And staring directly at her.

Lane’s entire body went stiff instantly.

Because somehow—

At some point during the night, she had practically attached herself to him.

One arm rested across his chest.

One leg tangled slightly against his.

Her hand loosely gripping the fabric of his shirt.And worst of all—

Ethan had clearly been awake long enough to notice everything.

Lane jerked backward so quickly she nearly fell off the bed.

"I—I’m sorry—"

Her face burned violently red.

"I didn’t mean to—"

She looked genuinely horrified with embarrassment while trying to fix the blankets around herself.

"I move a lot when I sleep because of the pregnancy and I—"

Lane stopped herself abruptly.

Because Ethan was still just watching her silently.

His expression unreadable as always.

But somehow that almost made things worse.

Lane lowered her eyes immediately, mortified beyond belief.

"I’m sorry," she whispered again softly.

For a second neither spoke.

Then finally Ethan looked away first before sitting up slowly from the bed.

And somehow—

The fact he didn’t say anything at all made Lane’s heart beat even faster.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!